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Cat in Hell's Chance (Encounter)
Cat in Hell's Chance is an encounter in The Battle for Krezzor. Enemies * Hellcat (1235 Gold, 152 XP, 95 Energy, 7 HP) * Radariss Hellclaw (1300 Gold, 160 XP, 100 Energy, 7 HP) Transcript Introduction Last night... "Radariss Hellclaw's force..." Druka trailed off and scowled. The arcane sand table came up to the imp's chin, thus forcing him to engage in undignified springs and stretches as he tried to indicate points on the illusionary terrain. Tessa turned her smile into a cough before the unimposing general's gaze fell on her. The fiend who stood behind him was less decorous, however -- and emitted a loud guffaw. The imp turned around, stared up at the mocking face, and threw an uppercut into the demon's groin. The fiend doubled over with a groan. Druka grabbed his horns, dragged him to his hands and knees, and jumped up onto his back. He regarded the table with satisfaction from his new elevation. "As I was saying... Radariss Hellclaw's legions are camped here." He gestured at an expanse of purple grass. The magical images shifted, drawing their viewpoint closer to the area he'd indicated -- until the creatures that inhabited it were large enough for Tessa Tullian to make out the vertical black slits in their eyes. "Felpuur?" she said. "Once, perhaps," Brachus replied. "A tribe condemned to hell, so they claim." "Cavalry," Druka said. "Fast and dangerous." He twirled his finger, and the image parted into a fine mist of glowing particles. When they coalesced once more, they hardened into a great line of charging hellcats -- big demonic beasts, like panthers or tigers, but with crimson lacing their hides in glowing streams and seething below their brows. Each of them bore one of the felpuur-like fiends on its back, riders with long lances braced under their arms. "We have to stop them," the imp continued. "Or they'll tear our flank." "Give me your archers," Tessa said, "and we'll do it." One of the demons barked laughter. He was a lanky yellow fiend, with long, thin horns that curved almost all the way round to the back of his head -- nearly touching the top of the bow slung there beside a large quiver. "Why would our archers obey a human wench?" "Because if they don't," she said, "I'll take my knife and turn them all into eunuchs. And I'll hang their bits off my bow as trophies." The yellow demon gulped and bowed. Brachus nodded his approval. Y'Raxa Krund favored her with a smirk. And Mirabilis, Y'Raxa's incubus companion, stuck out his tongue and winked. The sword stud split his lower lip and sent a rivulet of blood running down his chin. Though she was careful to keep it from her face, Tessa was pleased. Understanding one's audience was an essential part of diplomacy... She remained in the tent long enough to hear all the essentials of the battle plan. Then, when the others began to discuss the minutiae of their own parts, she whispered in 's ear. "I'll go prepare the archers." Tessa slipped past him, made her way through the demons, and went out into the night. Stopping a cavalry charge... That would take- "I love your attitude, darling..." Mirabilis appeared at her side, his oiled body shining in the light from nearby fires. "Thank you." Tessa kept walking. The incubus accelerated and darted in front of her. "I'm an archer myself," he said. "I'd so love to serve under you..." He moved towards her with almost serpentine grace, tongue curling from between his bloody lips, eyes gleaming like beautiful jewels. Tessa raised her eyebrow. Then she kicked his legs out from under him. An instant later he was on his back, and she had an arrow in her hand -- its point a fraction of an inch from his left eyeball. "Maybe just a kiss then?" the incubus said. His tongue described a figure of eight, the sword stud carving an intricate web of steel. "Do you shoot better than you seduce?" Tessa asked. "You wound me, milady." "Not yet. But it may come to that..." She rose and returned the arrow to her quiver. Mirabilis put his hands behind the back of his head, crossed one leg over the other, and smiled at her. "What if I save your life in the battle?" he asked. "Then do I get a kiss?" Tessa rolled her eyes. Demons... *** Demons... The hellcats pounded across the purple plain, their paws raising a din that was somehow softer than Tessa had expected. But if the feline steeds didn't match the clamor of an equine cavalry charge, their predatory eyes and fanged maws made them far more terrible. Nor were the cat-like demon riders with their heavy lances any less so. They were almost knee-to-knee. This was no disorganized, haphazard assault. It would be hard to break. And Tessa Tullian knew that none of the archers would live if they failed. "Ready!" she cried. She went down on one knee as she put an arrow to her bow. The rest of the forward line did the same. "Good luck, darling," a voice said from behind. A long, thick tongue lapped the air beside her head. The sword stud glimmered in the corner of her vision. But it withdrew as the incubus readied his own bow. The rows of feline faces grew larger by the moment. Those pounding paws were like the beating of an immense, hammering heart. A frantic part of Tessa's mind urged her to let fly. But she drove it back into the depths of her brain. If they fired now, they would reap a poor harvest -- and waste valuable moments drawing another arrow. Better to wait until... "Fire!" Conclusion The archers' orchestra, the echoing sounds of thunking strings and whispering shafts, seemed to fill Krezzor. A dark swarming cloud devoured the space between bowmen and riders, killers and victims. Some of it passed over their heads or between them. But others thudded home in flesh. Galloping strides became tangled tumbles. Riders topped backwards from the saddle, or crashed down beneath their sprawling steeds. Still the rest hurtled onwards, fierce and unbroken, leaping over the fallen or else trampling them into the purple ground. The arrows continued to fly, each archer shooting as fast as their hand could move and eye could aim. Many of the others were skilled. Mirabilis' golden bow, its ends capped with curled tongues, reaped its share of infernal feline flesh. But no weapon claimed so many lives as the bow of Teucer Tullian. Colorful fletches sped through the air and quivered in dead flesh, with not a single shot wasted. And still the riders came, the survivors with blood in their eyes and in their twitching nostrils. Strings of saliva stretched between ravenous jaws. Tessa fired again. Her shaft flew between fangs, and a mount's eyes rolled back into its furry head. But its rider, the powerful grey creature she knew must be Radariss Hellclaw himself, leapt high above the toppling, rolling beast. The heavy lance fell from his hand to lie with his dead steed. He had no need of it. Ten long claws extended from his fingertips, so sharp they were almost transparent. She reached for another arrow as death plunged towards her. But she knew it was too late. Infernal eyes blazed. A howl tore from his mouth. And those murderous claws slashed. Purple flashed above Tessa's head. An oily form, lithe but muscular, slammed into the cat-demon. Their entwined bodies fell, tumbling in a vicious embrace. Radariss' claws were raking the incubus' back, tearing great furrows. Mirabilis moaned in ecstasy. And he went to work with the hooked dagger in each hand. The cat-demon was still howling, but not in rage. Blood splashed in all directions, in long, shining streams. The howls ended when a scything blow took his throat. Tessa was frozen for a moment. She could still see the claws coming down towards her, to rend and kill. Then she cursed herself for her weakness, rose, and fired shafts into the few remaining enemies -- destroying the last of Hellclaw's charge. "You promised me a kiss..." The incubus was in front of her, his chest marred with rows of scratch wounds, his tongue extended. "I promised nothing." He shrugged. "Silence is as good as consent." Her right hand darted out. Mirabilis flinched, his tongue retracted towards his mouth. But he was too slow. Her thumb and forefinger caught hold of the miniature sword's hilt, and yanked it out and instant before the thick organ disappeared between his lips. She sealed them with a kiss. Tessa turned around and walked away. She tossed the sword stud to him, over her shoulder, as she went. Category:The Battle for Krezzor